Mā te mātauranga e ārahi ngā Kaipūtaiao Māori ō ngā reanga e aru mai ana

Nau mai a Puanga, nau mai te huihui a Matariki, nau mai ngā kōrero o te Maramataka.

Ka rite te ara o Puangarua, ka tū nei te huihui o Matariki, ngā whetū tapu o te tau. Hei te tau e heke mai nei, ā te 24 o Hūrae 2022 ka tū he rā whakatā huri noa i Aotearoa. Ko te kaupapa, hei whakanui i te tau hou, i a Puanga, rātou ko Matariki e mahuta ake ana i te pae. Mai i tēnei kaupapa, ka puāwai te mātauranga Māori, ā, ka hua mai hoki ngā kōrero o te Maramataka.

Nōte rerehua o te Maramataka ka hihiri ai a Te Kahuratai Painting (Ngāti Manu, Ngāpuhi) ki āna rangahau paerua o te tiaki moana – me kī, ngā kōrero tuku iho o te Maramataka. Nā te rerehua o te mātauranga Māori, ā, nā te hiakai ō ngā Iwi Taketake, kua pā atu te karanga ki a ia kia hono ai ki tētahi ope kaimahi Iwi Taketake o NASA hei kaikōrero, kia hono hoki ai ki ngā kaiako, ki ngā kaimātai arorangi o ngā Iwi Taketake o te ao.

I tōna taenga mai ki te whare wānanga nei, ko tōnā hiahia kia whai tohu hei tākuta hauora. Nō reira, ko te mātai koiora me te hauora tōna tohu i Te Whare Pūtaiao. Heoi, nā tāna mahi tahi ki a Ahorangi Michael Walker (Te Whakatōhea), nā tāna aro ki te pāngarau, ka timu atu he tai, ka pari mai he tai hōu. Ka tonoa ia hei kairangahau kia hanga i tētahi tauira pāngarau mo tētahi kaupapa Maramataka. Kātahi ka huri tōna waka mai i te koiora me te pāngarau ki te mātauranga o ngā mātua tūpuna.

Nā ēnei mahi rangahau paerua āna, ka hoki ia ki te kāinga, ki Te Tai Tokerau. I reira ka wānanga ai ngā kōrero o te Maramataka. Ehara i te mea e pā ana te Maramataka ki te marama anake, engari ka honohono ki ngā mea katoa. Arā, ki te tātai arorangi, ki te hau, ki te ua, ki te ngahere, ki te māra, ki te moana – arā, ki ngā tikanga katoa o te kaitiakitanga.

Hei tā Te Kahuratai, “Me ruku hōhonu ki roto i te maramataka kia mārama ai ki ngā tikanga o te kaitiakitanga.”  Ko ‘Ngā Tohu o te Maramataka: me pēhea ngā tohu o te Maramataka e ārahi te kaitiakitanga o Ngāti Manu i te moana’ te kaupapa o tāna tuhinga roa. Hei rāranga i ngā kōrero, ka mahi tahi a Te Kahuratai me tētahi ringawhao, a Ben Thomason (Ngāti Raukawa) hei whakatauira ai ngā kōrero tuku iho o te Maramataka mā te mahi toi.

Hei tā Te Kahuratai, mā te mātauranga Māori, ā, mā te mātauranga o ngā Iwi Taketake, e ārahi te rangahau me te whakaako ō ngā pūtaiao o te Pākehā. Me pērā hoki ai ngā marau pūtaiao. “Mēnā ka pēnei ngā rangahau, ngā akomanga, ngā mārau pūtaiao, ka rerekē ngā whakaaro o tātou e pā ana ki te pūtaiao, ā, ka rerekē te tūranga o te iwi Māori ki tēnei akoranga. Ka horahia anōtia ngā pūtaiao a ō tātou mātua tūpuna e huna ana i ngā kōrero tuku iho, i ngā mātauranga pēnei i te Maramataka. Ka tū rangatira ai ngā Kaipūtaiao Māori ō ngā reanga kei te aru mai nei kia whakatika i ngā hē e patu ana i te taiao.”

I tēnei wā o te tau hōu ka kōrero, ka whakaako tonu ia i ēnei mātauranga o te Maramataka huri noa i te motu.

Te Kahuratai Painting with NASA representatives.

Creating a new generation of Māori and Indigenous scientists

It's time to celebrate Puanga and Matariki, and a time to bring forth the teachings of the Maramataka – the Māori stellar-lunar ecological calendar.

The helical rising of Matariki and Puanga is upon us: it marks the beginning of the Māori New Year and, on 24 June 2022, New Zealand will officially celebrate it as a public holiday. The celebration brings forth a plethora of knowledge from a Māori worldview and marks the way for a revival of the Maramataka – the Māori stellar-lunar ecological calendar.

The Indigenous scientific knowledge behind Maramataka is an area of research that captured the interest of masters student Te Kahuratai Painting (Ngāti Manu, Ngāpuhi). His work in this field has since brought invitations to present to the NASA American Indian and Alaskan Native Group, and to collaborate with Indigenous astronomers around the world.

As an undergraduate, Te Kahuratai entered the University with aspirations to become a medical doctor and began his science degree specialising in biomedical science. However, through his work with Professor Michael Walker (Te Whakatōhea) while studying applied mathematics, he was recruited to research a mathematical model for a Maramataka project. This project completely changed his future research from mathematical biology towards the mātauranga Māori (Māori way of knowing and knowledge) of Maramataka.

Te Kahuratai’s research saw him return to his people in Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) to discuss the mātauranga that connected Mararamataka.

Maramataka is marked by the phases of the moon, but is not only concerned with the lunar cycles. It is also marked by the heliacal rising of stars, the direction of the winds and rains, the flowering of trees, the behaviour of birds, the currents of the oceans, the running of eels, and the ebb and flow of the tides. In this way, the Maramataka is intrinsic to environmental kaitiakitanga.

“A deep understanding of Maramataka is necessary to guide and understand kaitiakitanga,” says Te Kahuratai. His thesis, ‘Ngā Tohu o te Maramataka: using tohu of Maramataka to guide Ngāti Manu kaitiakitanga of their moana’ explores this. To communicate this understanding of Maramataka, he collaborated with Ngāti Raukawa graphic designer, Ben Thomason, to create a series of graphics that illustrate their ancestral knowledge of the stars. 

Te Kahuratai is dedicated to ensuring mātauranga Māori and Indigenous knowledges are at the forefront of Western scientific research and education, as well as incorporating this into science courses.

“If these changes are made to research, teaching and curriculum, we will be able to dispel common misconceptions we all hold about our Indigenous peoples in science, our place as Māori in science, and encourage a rethinking of what science is," he says. "When we show the scientific knowledge of our ancestors embedded in our kōrero tuku iho and mātauranga Māori, a new generation of Māori and Indigenous scientists will be able to lead the scientific solutions to help reverse the damage to our environment.”

Throughout Matariki, Te Kahuratai will be actively presenting his research on the Maramataka around the country.

Media Adviser
Aroha Mane
M: 021 244 9707
E: aroha.mane@auckland.ac.nz